InfoComm 2018: What Fortune 500s and Top Universities Had Their Eye On

Couldn’t make it out to Las Vegas last week for InfoComm? Good news: you missed the 104-degree heat. Better news: we put together a list of what was trending in the Robin booth and elsewhere. So you can stay cool, dry, and informed on the latest tech and A/V trends.If you’re not sure what InfoComm is, it’s the largest conference for audiovisual pros in North America. This year’s attendees topped out at 43,000 and hail from the world’s largest companies and universities. Vendor companies like Google, Microsoft, Crestron, and LG show off their latest and greatest hardware and software solutions across the office and campus.Here's what everyone was clamoring about in our neck of the woods:

1. Crestron featuring the Robin room display

Crestron is one of the mainstays at InfoComm, with A/V hardware built for large organizations to meet, present, and manage. So IT teams were psyched to see the Robin meeting room schedule display app running on Crestron’s room scheduling touch screens. Offices will get the best of both worlds: enterprise-grade hardware with end-user friendly software (+ access to the rest of the Robin scheduling platform).Specifically in our booth, we were showing off Robin on the Crestron 10.1” touchscreen with the added visibility of the Crestron room availability sign.

For people already invested in Crestron’s hardware, we heard firsthand how nice it was to have the option to use Robin, especially with our reputation for auto-updates and lightning fast-syncing. Laid out against the backdrop of an actual conference room, IT directors were excited to test out the features in a realistic setting. One-click impromptu meetings? Room availability light glowing green when available? We may have even heard some oohing and ahhing.

2. Scheduling tool for hot-desking (a.k.a. desk hoteling)

Based on recent hot-desking articles being less than positive, we were expecting varied attitudes towards Desks, our desk scheduling tool. But everyone was into hot-desking, from multinational corporations to tech startups. Seems like the InfoComm audience is embracing activity based work in order to give their colleagues more options to get work done.

An IT manager from a notable nonprofit has an entire department working without assigned seats. So when we chatted about using Robin Desks to keep things sane, his eyes lit up. “That’s a no-brainer.” Coincidentally, our hot-desking tool requires little mental effort. Find and book the desk you want, when you want.

3. Displaying the office calendar with Status Board

In order to find available meeting rooms fast, room schedules need to be visible everywhere. That’s why we have added a simple URL to our platform that can live on any web-enabled screen and shows the office calendar in real time. It’s also included with a Robin account. As one of our new friends asked last week, “So you mean, this fancy TV calendar is free?” Yes, free indeed.

An A/V designer for a firm who handles major stadiums, schools, and museums was drawn to Robin by the Status Board. But for many who see the full platform in action, the interest in Robin goes much deeper than any one tool. Convos often ran from one end of our product spectrum to the other, engaging interest the entire way. The platform provides a full office scheduling package that means happy end users and happy IT and A/V teams.So the Status Board was just the tip of the iceberg for many interested Robin visitors.

4. Booking rooms off floor plans that are easy to update

InfoComm visitors were pretty jazzed about our Maps, which aren't just static images but actual interactive floor plans. Having the ability to easily update the layout was a big win for many large companies who are tired of antiquated office map systems and want to have the flexibility and low cost to change office setups on the fly. Knowing their colleagues across the company could use this aspect of Robin for easy wayfinding and room or desk booking was also a plus. Maps are not just a pretty picture.

5. Yo-yos taking everyone for a walk down memory lane

While tech keeps moving forward, we took people back a couple decades with our yo-yo giveaways. Nostalgia was in full force as passersby stopped to show off their dormant skills. “Like riding a bike!” Less so for some of the Robin staff members, like myself, but it was great to see camaraderie over the original fidget-spinner.

Other tech we personally geeked out over:

Huddly: a small camera with a wide lens and AI recognition

iPort: minimalist, higher end iPad mounts

LG: transparent OLED displays

Way cool Transparent OLED displays from @LGCommDisplays #InfoComm18 #AVtweeps pic.twitter.com/FvRMwYl0Ny

— TASC A/V (@tascav) June 8, 2018

Lightform: Projected AR[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO9l1kkbcKE[/embed]

--

For those of you we met in person, hope this was a helpful refresher. To the folks who couldn't make it out to Sin City, we hope this post made you feel like you were right there with us, showing off your yo-yo skills.Until next year, InfoComm!